Waiting Alone
by freeasthebirds
Summary: Tim had always been waiting for his parents, whether it was for them to return from their many business trips or for them to pick him up from school. But an incident on the streets made him face reality: they were never going to come for him.


Disclaimer: I do not own Batman

* * *

Waiting Alone

Five year old Timothy Drake watched the cars drove past anxiously. Where were his parents? They were supposed to be here already. Did they forget? No, that was impossible. His parents never forgot anything. Maybe something happened to them?

It was his first day in kindergarten. His parents had dropped him in front of the building in the morning and gave him firm instructions to behave well and listen to his teachers. They were to pick him up at 2:30pm.

When Tim walked out of the building with his classmates and an accompanying teacher at 2:30, his heart sank when he realized that his parents' car was not there. Tim shifted uneasily. Fifteen minutes and thirty-two seconds had passed. He had been counting.

The young teacher smiled at him. "Are you okay, dear? Do you want me to call your parents?"

"No, thank you. It is fine, Miss Anderson." Tim replied. His parents _would_ come. He was sure of it.

"Well then, would you like to come upstairs and wait in my room?"

Tim politely refused the offer. His parents expected him to wait here. They would be angry with him for wandering elsewhere. Tim's eyes flicked to Miss Anderson as she leaned against the wall with a sigh. He immediately felt guilty for making her wait here with him. After all, those stilettos must be uncomfortable; he often heard his mother complain about them. But he couldn't just ask Miss Anderson to leave; he knew that the teachers had to ensure that each child returned home safely.

* * *

Two hours had past, and Tim was still waiting. He had convinced his teacher to leave; and since he could already tell from her body language that she desperately wanted to leave, it wasn't hard.

Tim didn't know what to do. It was getting late, and his mother always told him it was dangerous to be out alone at this time. Tim shivered from where he sat on the stone steps. Whether it was from the biting cold, or from fear, he didn't know.

Tim unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and took a small sip. He shook the bottle gently and frowned. There wasn't much water left. He removed a packet of crackers from his bag and chewed slowly, though it did little to sate his hunger. If his parents didn't come soon, he would die of thirst and hunger.

* * *

He couldn't wait any longer. It was raining now, and he was cold, wet, tired and hungry. He would walk back home. It was a good thing he paid attention when his parents drove him here.

Tim held up an arm to shield himself from the rain while the other held his schoolbag close to his chest. He would not let his books get wet, no matter what. Tim stopped suddenly at an intersection. He didn't recognize this street. But he was sure he went the right way! Tim retraced his steps, but he was getting more and more confused. Everything looked so different when it was raining!

People pushed past him as they rushed to shelter. They didn't seem to notice the small boy trying to make his way through. One guy even knocked hard into him, causing Tim to fall down. Tears filled his eyes as he scraped his knee on the pavement. Tim curled into a ball from his spot on the ground. He was scared and lost. Not to mention his knee was hurting real bad.

* * *

Tim didn't know how long he had been lying there, and he didn't care. All he wanted was to go home. Suddenly, he heard a voice calling someone. And it was getting louder. Curious, Tim lifted his head to see what was going on. He saw a boy holding an umbrella approaching him.

"Hey, kid, are you alright?" The boy asked, looking concerned as he crouched in front of Tim.

Tim immediately shied away from him.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." The boy said gently. "Where're your parents? Did you get separated from them? Are you lost?"

Tim nodded slowly.

The boy moved closer to him and held the umbrella over both of them. "Do you know where they are? Where is the last place that you saw them?"

Tim shook his head. He didn't know where they were. He didn't even know where _he_ was!

"Whoa, calm down! It's okay! Just take deep breaths." The boy said quickly as Tim started to panic.

After taking several deep breaths through his mouth, Tim slowly started to calm down, but he still felt scared.

The boy patted Tim's back. "I think I can help you, buddy. Where do you live? I know these streets like the back of my hand. So I'm sure I can get you home."

Tim felt hope surge through him. This guy could get him home! But at the same time, he was hesitant to trust him. His mother always told him not to trust strangers. However, this boy seems nice and he doesn't look like a bad guy.

"Crest Hill." Tim didn't know if it was a good idea to tell this stranger where he lived. Besides, it was well known that Crest Hill was an upper-class neighborhood.

"Crest Hill? You're quite far from home, little guy. It's a good thing I'm here. I'm going to have to call for transport, unless you want to swim over to Crest Hill." The boy joked.

The boy stood up and pulled Tim to his feet. Then he took out a strange device from his pocket and pressed a button.

"We just got to wait for awhile. My driver will be here soon." The boy told him. "By the way, my name's Dick. What's yours?"

"Tim."

"Tim, huh? Hmm…I think Timmy suits you better."

Tim stared at Dick in confusion. Why did Dick want to change his name?

"So, Timmers, how old are you? You look a little young to be going to school."

Timmers? What was with Dick and giving him weird names? "Five."

"Five? Looks more like three. Kinda quiet for a five year old too." Dick muttered under his breath.

Just then, a black limousine stopped in front of them and honked loudly.

"Oh, our ride is here! C'mon Timbo, let's go."

Dick slowly guided Tim over to the limousine and made sure he was fastened safely by the seatbelt before going round to the other side of the car and joining him on the backseat.

"Hey, Alf." Dick greeted the driver. "This is Timmy. Timmy, meet Alfred."

"Good evening, young sir." The man said courteously.

"Good evening, Mr. Alfred. And my name is Tim, _not_ Timmy." Tim said, shooting Dick an annoyed look.

"Aw, but Timmy sounds so adorable!"

Tim wanted to protest, but he supposed it doesn't really matter what Dick wanted to call him. After all, it's not like they would meet again. Tim turned away and looked out the window. The rain was getting lighter and the clouds were clearing. He wondered what happened to his parents. Maybe they really did forget him. Would they even notice if he had gone missing?

He remembered one time when he was three; he decided to venture out of the house and had gotten lost. Fortunately, a large man wearing a business suit had kindly brought him back home. When the man asked him where his parents were, Tim had answered that they were on a business trip and wouldn't be back until the next week. That earned him a funny look from the man, but fortunately the man decided not to say anything.

When Tim returned home, he had a hollow feeling in his chest; he couldn't even share his experience with his parents because they were away. They would have reprimanded him for getting lost anyway, so he supposed it really doesn't matter. It was just that…he always saw how other kids' parents hugged and comforted them whenever any of them got lost, and he just wished that he had that kind of relationship with his parents. They were always so busy…sometimes he felt as if they care about him at all…

* * *

Tim sat up straighter when he realized that they were approaching Drake Manor. He would ask Mr. Alfred to drop him off here; he could walk there himself.

"Are you sure, Tim Tam? I think we should drop you off in _front_ of your house, not at the sidewalk." Dick said after he made his request.

Tim insisted it was fine and that his house was just around the corner (which was a lie). Dick had finally relented, after multiple reassurances from Tim.

Dick was okay, Tim decided. Even though Dick couldn't remember his name and had talked his ear off the entire ride, Dick was a good person.

"Thank you for bringing me home. I apologize for the trouble I have given you."

"Trouble?" Dick echoed, "You were no trouble at all, Timmy Tim Tim! Besides, I live here too!"

He did? Tim wasn't aware of that. But he had never seen Dick around here before, and not many people lived here.

Dick bent down and engulfed him in a hug. "Okay, Timbity, take care of yourself. I'll see you around."

* * *

Tim slowly made his way towards Drake Manor. When he arrived, he noticed that all the lights were switched off. That meant that his parents weren't home. Tim took out a set of keys from his pocket and stood on his toes to unlock the front door. He entered the house and shut the door behind him. Tim walked to the kitchen and found a note on the fridge.

It said, 'Be back late. Food in fridge.'

Tim stared at the note. He didn't know what to feel. His parents _did_ forget to pick him up from school. Maybe they expected him to come home himself? But they said that they would come for him! His parents probably had more urgent business to attend to; they never had time for him.

Tim turned away and headed to his room. He didn't feel hungry anymore. On nights like this, his loneliness filled his stomach. He flopped on his bed and let out an unhappy sigh. Why did he think today would be any different? Things were going to be the same for him today, tomorrow and everyday after that.

* * *

Tim had stopped waiting. His parents were never going to come for him. They dropped him in front of the school in the morning, but they never showed up after school. He began to rely on himself. He had to take the bus home everyday, though he kept getting off at the wrong stops the first few times he took the bus. The bus was cramped and filled with people, but for some reason, he felt safe.

When Tim started first grade, his parents stopped fetching him to school, and instead expected him to find a way to get there himself. He was old enough, they said.

* * *

The worst thing about waiting was watching everyone else get greeted by their parents with hugs and smiles, while he stood there holding on to something that didn't exist. Everytime he saw or heard a car pass by, his heart would speed up, thinking it was his parents, but of course…it wasn't. The first few days Tim had waited for his parents he thought about how it wasn't fair. What did he do to deserve this kind of treatment? Even the bad kids at his school had parents that had time for them.

Tim learnt later that he shouldn't ask these kinds of questions. Life wasn't fair. It never is. That's the reason he can't let anyone in. He can't let anyone get close to his heart, as it would only result in hurt and pain. He was stronger now. Though it still bothered him slightly when his parents would leave for business trips for weeks and sometimes even months, Tim had learnt to accept it. He embraced the loneliness and had simply stopped waiting.


End file.
